Luckydevil
Well-known member
What is the best way to keep sawdust from going EVERYWHERE when doing wood work in the garage? I cut a bunch of pieces and now it looks like a friggin sawmill in there. Every inch of the garage has sawdust on it. 
Friggin sawdust everywhere...
- Thread starter Luckydevil
- Start date
Wile1Coyote
Well-known member
Proper sawblade helps too.
OP
Luckydevil
Well-known member
bmwpower- dust collector attachments on the tools or do they make larger ones?
wile1coyote- What do you mean by proper saw blade? I'm new to the whole woodworking thing so forgive my ignorance on this topic. I have a circular saw and the blade that came with it seems to be okay. Would changing the blade help?
wile1coyote- What do you mean by proper saw blade? I'm new to the whole woodworking thing so forgive my ignorance on this topic. I have a circular saw and the blade that came with it seems to be okay. Would changing the blade help?
rickairmedic
Well-known member
Luke you have a circular saw as in skill saw .WEEEEEEEEEELLLLL then thats differant easiest way too keep sawdust out of the shop with that type of saw set the danged saw horses up outside 
. I mean why would you do that inside anyways even my table saw goes out back under the awning if I am gonna use it heck I make enough messes in the shop with steel I sure dont want sawdust everywhere too bondo dust is also a fun one I try too move outside before doing any serious work involving sanding of boondo 
.
Rick
. I mean why would you do that inside anyways even my table saw goes out back under the awning if I am gonna use it heck I make enough messes in the shop with steel I sure dont want sawdust everywhere too bondo dust is also a fun one I try too move outside before doing any serious work involving sanding of boondo .Rick
BetterDays
Well-known member
rickairmedic said:Luke you have a circular saw as in skill saw .WEEEEEEEEEELLLLL then thats differant easiest way too keep sawdust out of the shop with that type of saw set the danged saw horses up outside
Rick
Bondo is much worse than sawdust... MUCH worse....
But, clean up is part of the process of completing a job... you gotta do what you gotta do.
ultgar
Well-known member
Power Tools & Dust Collection
I'm in the process of doing some finish carpentry in my workshop and used to dread everytime I had to cut or sand material inside. I recently (in the last week) became a distributor for Festool who makes some of the finest quality & precision power tools with great dust collection capabilities.
You've got to use these tools with a vacuum....the dust bag is a waste of time. There are some good videos at http://www.thewoodshop.20m.com/festool_atf_55e_part1.htm#intro along with a review of the 55atf saw.
This saw with the guide rail is much more effective (and takes up far less shop space) for cutting down sheet material than any tablesaw (ok....the $10k+ sliding table Euro saws may be better but most of those weigh in excess of 1000 lbs and require 3phase power). Ever try cross cutting a 4x8 sheet of 3/4" mdf by yourself on a tablesaw?
Let me know if you have any questions. Steve
I'm in the process of doing some finish carpentry in my workshop and used to dread everytime I had to cut or sand material inside. I recently (in the last week) became a distributor for Festool who makes some of the finest quality & precision power tools with great dust collection capabilities.
You've got to use these tools with a vacuum....the dust bag is a waste of time. There are some good videos at http://www.thewoodshop.20m.com/festool_atf_55e_part1.htm#intro along with a review of the 55atf saw.
This saw with the guide rail is much more effective (and takes up far less shop space) for cutting down sheet material than any tablesaw (ok....the $10k+ sliding table Euro saws may be better but most of those weigh in excess of 1000 lbs and require 3phase power). Ever try cross cutting a 4x8 sheet of 3/4" mdf by yourself on a tablesaw?
Let me know if you have any questions. Steve
danski0224
Well-known member
Festool isn't the only player in the saw guide system arena: http://www.eurekazone.com/index.html
Luckydevil said:
I was talking about a larger one, but if you're only using it occasionally, maybe a smaller one (aka vacuum) that attaches to tools will suffice.
Some explanation of the different sizes:
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/feature/-/10257/104-7720543-4083114
My friend uses this vacuum in his system as well as a larger dust collector (Delta).
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/t..._3/104-7720543-4083114?v=glance&s=hi&n=553014
JohnHenrys48
Well-known member
When I built the cabinets in my garage I had the same problem. Dust everywhere. I placed my shop vac by the door into the house and at quiting time I opened the garage door and blew it all outside. If you have "piles" of the stuff try vacuming it up first then blow the rest out. For some of the work, I did as someone else suggested and put the saw in the driveway. If you're planning on a wood shop set up then a dust collector might be the best bet. Harbor Freight has theirs on sale right now for $169. I think thats about $70 off.
BTW, you mentioned in another post about portable saw horses. I picked up a set at Home Depot for around $30. Their plastic but fairly heavy duty and stable. I think they were made by Stanely...Just to see what they could handel, I stacked 2, 4x8 sheets of 3/4 MDF, 5, 8 foot 4x4's and about 10, 10 foot 2x4's on them. They flexed a bit but held up. I regularly stand on them with no problems.
BTW, you mentioned in another post about portable saw horses. I picked up a set at Home Depot for around $30. Their plastic but fairly heavy duty and stable. I think they were made by Stanely...Just to see what they could handel, I stacked 2, 4x8 sheets of 3/4 MDF, 5, 8 foot 4x4's and about 10, 10 foot 2x4's on them. They flexed a bit but held up. I regularly stand on them with no problems.
Attachments
ultgar
Well-known member
danski0224 said:
I know...there are others like http://www.mafell.de/englisch/produkte/prod_saegen_i.htm . SD
mustanglovr6473
New member
oh, don't i know it! i got a 66 mustang sittin in my garage and once i did my living room floor the car was completely covered in thick green dust. i reccomend you get a dust collector from home depot or the likes.
danski0224
Well-known member
ultgar said:
The Eurekazone product is much cheaper than the Festool or the Mafell system, and probably does the job just as well in most respects, without being a Harbor Freight import knockoff of a good tool.
Next time I have an itch for a table saw, I'll be getting the EZ Smart system.
Wile1Coyote
Well-known member
Yes Luke there are specific sawblades for specific types of projects. The differences are the number of teeth on the blade and the overall tooth shape (hook angle) and the bend of the teeth as to whether they stick out left and right or are in a single line. This is known as the kerf, and determines just how wide the saw blade is. Frankly there are a ton of options.
I would assume you have a fairly general crosscut blade that came with the saw. Next time you are at the hardware take a look at the blades and you can generaly get a pack of different styles fairly cheaply. The package will give you a good idea which blade to use for which type of task be it general stuff, precision cutting, ripping plywood etc. The material you are cutting can make a difference too as composites and chipboards, make a lot of dust, then softwoods then hardwoods. You'd be amazed at the difference just between a piece of **** pine and poplar even. I try to stay away from pine if at all possible, Poplar and Red Oak are only a bit more for most boards and they are so much straighter and much easier to work with and clean up after it isn't funny.
And finally the type of cut you are doing determines the amount of dust as well as a rip (with the grain) is much easier on the saw and thus allows the saw to cut more material than a crosscut (against the grain).
Clear as mud eh?
Jon
Oh and I have set of those black and yellow horse too, got mine at Aco for $10 ea. They are pretty sturdy cept you can't clamp anything to them worth a damn as there are no flats spots. Good for getting stuff off the ground though.
I would assume you have a fairly general crosscut blade that came with the saw. Next time you are at the hardware take a look at the blades and you can generaly get a pack of different styles fairly cheaply. The package will give you a good idea which blade to use for which type of task be it general stuff, precision cutting, ripping plywood etc. The material you are cutting can make a difference too as composites and chipboards, make a lot of dust, then softwoods then hardwoods. You'd be amazed at the difference just between a piece of **** pine and poplar even. I try to stay away from pine if at all possible, Poplar and Red Oak are only a bit more for most boards and they are so much straighter and much easier to work with and clean up after it isn't funny.
And finally the type of cut you are doing determines the amount of dust as well as a rip (with the grain) is much easier on the saw and thus allows the saw to cut more material than a crosscut (against the grain).
Clear as mud eh?
Jon
Oh and I have set of those black and yellow horse too, got mine at Aco for $10 ea. They are pretty sturdy cept you can't clamp anything to them worth a damn as there are no flats spots. Good for getting stuff off the ground though.
OP
Luckydevil
Well-known member
Wile- I am cutting 3/4" MDF, any idea which blade I should be using?
Wile1Coyote
Well-known member
AH MDF! Well there ya go, when you start with glued together sawdust ya make a lot of sawdust. You want a carbide tipped plywood blade with a ton of teeth. A good one will have the plate of the saw actually ground in a little bit from the teeth, this helps the blade not to bind on the material. If ya buy a cheap one, it won't have that and the plate part of the blade can actually burn the wood as it rotates in the cut. Smelly but no problem long term just run a sander over it if it happens.
Gl Luke
Jon
You want a carbide tipped plywood blade with a ton of teeth. A good one will have the plate of the saw actually ground in a little bit from the teeth, this helps the blade not to bind on the material. If ya buy a cheap one, it won't have that and the plate part of the blade can actually burn the wood as it rotates in the cut. Smelly but no problem long term just run a sander over it if it happens.Gl Luke
Jon
ranger_dood
Well-known member
I just take it all outside... I use a cordless circular saw, anyway, so it's no big deal. Keeps the mess and noise outside.
OP
Luckydevil
Well-known member
ranger_dood said:
After spending a few hours saturday trying to clean all of the sawdust out of my garage and off of everything in there, I will only be doing my woodwork outside from now on.
It's also nice to be able to just hose down the driveway for cleanup when I am done.
Jon- Thanks for the blade tips. I'll probably grab a new one this weekend.
SteveL
Well-known member
Your first problem is that you're cutting MDF, which is the worst for creating dust!!!!!!!!!!!! Your circular saw should have some sort of vacumn attachment and I would highly recomend using it even if you're outside. It will get most, but not all of the dust created by a circular saw, even the Festool.
I do a lot of woodworking and have a complete shop separate from the garage and have a large dust collection system and air filters and still get a fair amount of dust around the shop. Router tables and large miter saws are the hardest to contain. They want to throw shavings everywhere!!!
Having the proper blade will help some, but not enough to avoid using a vacumn of some sort. You think you have dust now............just take a router to that MDF and see what happens!
I do a lot of woodworking and have a complete shop separate from the garage and have a large dust collection system and air filters and still get a fair amount of dust around the shop. Router tables and large miter saws are the hardest to contain. They want to throw shavings everywhere!!!
Having the proper blade will help some, but not enough to avoid using a vacumn of some sort. You think you have dust now............just take a router to that MDF and see what happens!
kartracer55
Well-known member
- Joined
- Jun 21, 2005
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I think the whole sawdust problem is a side effect of wood working. I really dont think there is any way around it. Delta does make portable dust collector on sale at amazon for like 170 I belive. There are also attatchments you can put on different tools to hook up a dust collector too. All in all, If you simply want the sawdust out, Might I recommend a pancake compressor with low PSI? Maybe a leafblower? Shopvac on blow? I dont think there is anyway around creating sawdust if your doing alot of wood working. I like the outside Idea as well. Maybe A big fan (like the hurricane force fans on american hotrod) would do the trick in blowing it all outside. The more effective the method, the more expensive it will probably be.
Jim
Jim
TOMWELDS
Well-known member
Air flow helps too. Positive air pressure in the shop or venting in a direction that takes the dust out and away from everything.